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"I did notice that you had your first age-spurt last night, Sarah."

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Dragon's Mark

Copyright© 2021 Shauna J. Rousseau
All Rights Reserved.
(Cover image designed by Joyce Melton.)
(Edited by Angela Rasch.)

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Chapter Four
 

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"Alex! Bro! Wake up!"

I blearily open my eyes and glance at the time on my phone. I think I must be still dreaming when I see it's only four o'clock. I groan.

"Good! You're finally awake! I'm going to turn on the light!"

Before I can shield my eyes, the overhead light clicks on and effectively blinds me. "Ow! Sis! What's going on? Is Momma, okay?" I blink my eyes, trying to get the spots to go away.

"She's fine. I mean I suppose she is, anyway. She has the early shift, this morning. You know that! She left an hour ago."

Momma J is a pediatric psychiatrist and works at Saint Elizabeth's hospital. It's one of the reasons she was perfect for fostering and ultimately adopting us. Then it hits me ….

"Wait! You weren't speaking just then! I was hearing you in my mind—and you're not touching me!" I focus on her once my eyes adjust to the blinding light and gasp. My thirteen-year-old sister looks at least sixteen—and it's not her makeup doing it. She doesn't have any on. What happened?

"That's a good question!" She looks freaked out again. "First, I heard your dreams—they woke me up. You really need to talk to Momma about those!" She shudders. "Then I looked in the mirror when I went to the bathroom …."

I don't know whether her shudder is from witnessing my dreams or from seeing herself in the mirror. "Give me a sec to wake up and get dressed. Then we'll try and figure this out." I quickly get into my wheelchair and roll into my bathroom. I take care of the usual morning business for anybody with my type of injuries, then I wash my face and roll back out to the kitchen.

Sis is sitting at the kitchen table, looking totally confused. She still looks at least sixteen—it wasn't just me not being awake. "I don't understand any of this, Alex! I mean … I guess the telepathy is somewhat understandable with our … connection, or whatever. But … I barely had breasts starting to bud when I went to bed." She looks down. "It feels like I have D-cups, right now … I mean I know they're not, but they feel that way. Not to mention … the rest of my … curves. It's like I added three years of development overnight!" I'm freaking the fuck out!

I grab her hand and squeeze it. "I know you are, Sis. I totally get it. Hopefully, Pinkie and Co. will have some sort of idea about what's going on."

Sis sighs and gets up to get ready while I prepare breakfast. When she comes back in, made up, I almost choke. With her makeup on, she now looks like she's as old as me—my real age, not the fourteen I look to be. She's also wearing some of Momma's yoga workout clothes, although she's filling them out much differently than Momma J does. The top is one of those with a built-in bra and it's fairly tight on her. I guess her own clothes don't fit, anymore. I think she's a couple of inches taller, on top of her … curves.

I study her makeup and decide she didn't do anything to make herself look older—not that I know anything about makeup. But I have seen her do that—and feel the wrath of Momma J. This doesn't have that feel. If anything, it looks like she played it down. You're hot! I feel another surge of jealousy as I think about how Race will react when he sees her.

She blushes. She must have read my thoughts.

I don't know how to shield them from her, so I try to think of other things while we eat. I scarf down my food but try and focus my thoughts on thoroughly chewing it. When I'm done, I push back from the table. "I'm going to get dressed. Be right back …."

What am I going to do? He's avoiding me, now. I'm a freak and this totally sucks! I hear her thoughts as I roll down the hall and my eyes well up. I know she didn't mean for me to "hear" that, either. She doesn't have any more control than I do.

 

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We sit in the back of the van in uncomfortable silence. Pinkie is looking back and forth between us and easily picks up on the tension. She doesn't say anything, which means she either doesn't want to interfere—or she's just too chicken to open up a can of worms. More telling to me, though, is that she didn't seem at all surprised to see Sis' overnight aging … she didn't even mention it. Although, she did raise an eyebrow at Sis' clothes. Maybe she just thinks she wants to be comfortable and doesn't condone the overly casual look for where we're going.

The van finally stops and Pinkie nods as she holds her hand to her ear. "Okay. We're here. We'll all meet in the lounge and do some testing around your bond. After lunch, Alex will go to the War Room and Sarah will continue practicing her healing magic with Ginger. Any questions?"

Sis and I both shake our heads. The War Room? What is that about?
I shrug. Your guess is as good as mine. I intentionally think of anything but the satellite feed I saw yesterday. I can't afford to let her get a glimpse of that.

You dreamt about it last night, Bro. I know about the dinosaurs and the dragons … and the rest …. I won't them know that I know, though. It all seems rather far-fetched, to me.

I jerk and pale. I look at Sis and she smiles wanly. We have to get a handle on this! I love you, but I don't want you to have unfettered access to my thoughts!

No duh, Bro! Right back at ya! Her smile turns brighter and reaches her eyes as she winks.

Pinkie is looking at us curiously.

I remember that she asked whether we have any questions. I shake my head. "None for now."

She gives me a funny look and nods. The door opens and we make our way back through the tunnel to the West Wing—this time without the suited escort.

Ginger and Rob are waiting in the lounge for us. Pinkie just drops us off and waves as she leaves the room. "I'll see you at lunch!"

Rob speaks up first. "Okay! So, I really want to explore this bond between you two …."

Sis can't stand it, anymore. She just explodes. "Wait! So, no one is going to comment on the fact that I just aged by several years last night? And Alex and I can read each other's thoughts! There will be no 'exploring' until we get answers!"

I smile. I love you, Sis!

If Rob or Ginger take offense to her outburst, they hide it well. They seem to take it in total stride. It's kind of infuriating, to be honest.

"I did notice that you had your first age-spurt last night, Sarah." Ginger shrugs. "We don't usually get to see them by the time mages get here. Anyway, since you obviously are surprised … it's clear you don't know about them …. You likely put on about three years, last night. You will continue to have these spurts over the next couple of weeks, now that your magic is fully manifesting."

She takes a deep breath. "Your body will rapidly age until you're the equivalent of where you would be in your early to mid-twenties with normal aging, then it will stop. Those that got their magic at an older age actually revert to their mid-twenties. We're not sure if it's a hard stop at that point, or you just age really slowly after that. It's happened to all of us, that's why all of us here seem to be about the same age. None of us have had magic long enough to know the long-term effects."

Sis looks really shaken, now. This is just so weird! I'm being robbed of my whole teenage years!

I feel my jealousy roar back to life. Yeah. But you're a beautiful … hot … babe. I won't be able to beat the guys off you, like a big brother is supposed to. But I guess you're going to be the big sister, now. I picture her making out with Race, enraging my green-eyed monster even more.

I see a horrified look appear on her face. Ew! Bro! I was uncertain this past year, but a few years' worth of growth overnight made one thing clear to me—I'm not interested in your Race. You can have him! Now … I just need to figure out how to get Ginger to like me. She's hot!

Rob is oblivious to the conversation going on between us and picks up where Ginger left off. "As for your ability to converse telepathically … that is not unknown. But it is something we need to explore. It must be connected to your bond and Alex's red magic. As far as we know, only individuals with it … and shifters … can communicate in that manner. It's still an enigma, since Alex's magic hasn't emerged, yet—which is why I'm tying it to your internal bond, since neither of you can shift that I'm aware of. So, can we get started exploring that, now?"

This isn't their first rodeo, Sis. It's frightening to us—but "normal" to them. They need someone like Momma J to reset their sensitivities to those that are just thrown into this ….

Sis grimaces. Right after you talk to her about those dreams of yours. She looks at Rob. "Since you don't seem to have any care at all about how this is affecting us, sure. Satisfy your curiosity away. By all means!"

"We don't have the luxury of being able to coddle people." He shrugs. "We're headed toward war and have to rally the forces. You'll find out about that in due time, but for now we need to finish our evaluation. There's a lot riding on the two of you, it seems."

Ginger purses her lips. "You do have a point, Sarah. Mental health is important through this. It's not coddling." She gives Rob a dark look. "I think someone like your momma could be of immense use to the cause. Someone without inherent magic … she may be of more use to us than just as your guardian … I'll talk to … the powers that be …."

"Be that as it may." Rob rolls his eyes. "We're on the clock here, people!"

He's an ass!

Sis! You're really getting into this cussing. Don't let Momma J catch you! Just because you're physically going to be in your twenties … or whatever … won't be an excuse for her! I wink at her. "What do you have in mind, Rob? We probably should get to it—before Sis figures out how to put her healing magic in reverse and sucks the health right out of you. I would stop pissing her off, if you want us to cooperate. We want to know what's going on as much as you do, but we're not your guinea pigs to do with as you see fit."

Go, Bro!

Rob turns bright red but is smart enough to not retort.

Ginger just smirks at him, and then grins at me.

I get the feeling they may not get along the best, either. Maybe Rob just is an ass.

Ginger takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out. "You have to understand, Sarah. We normally don't get new mages in here until they're much later along in their magic. They are thoroughly vetted in their type and strength and have at least some training. When they come in here, it is to evaluate how to add them to the community … and to fully register them. Normally we find them—they don't find us. You and Alex are a special case, given the red magic involved. We don't usually interact much with someone as new to magic as you."

Sis and I both shake our heads. I don't know about you, but that doesn't really instill a lot of confidence in me … or make me feel a lot better.

I just nod at Sis' thought but remain otherwise quiet. There's no sense in maintaining the hostilities, at this point.

The next couple of hours go by like molasses. Rob makes us "connect" in different ways. The worst is when we have to "project" which playing card or picture we're privately looking at to the other—to "prove" we're communicating telepathically. We nail it one hundred percent of the time. But neither of us can communicate the same way with either Rob or Ginger.

Finally, Rob seems satisfied. "Okay. It's clear that you're communicating. Ginger, do you agree it's stemming from Alex's red magic core?"

Ginger nods. "I do. The source is Alex—the power is Sarah, though. With Alex not yet able to tap into his latent magic, Sarah is providing the energy. There is no doubt in my mind that their bond is the conduit that's letting it all work."

I shrug and ask the question that both Sis and I both want answered. "So, how do we turn it off?"

Rob explodes. "Turn it off? What do you mean?" His face turns crimson. "Do you realize how special this is? Most of us would kill for this ability!"

Ginger frowns. "Shut up, Rob. You don't fucking get it … at all!" She shakes her head and looks at us—ignoring Rob's bright red face. "To be honest … I'm not sure. When you're in the War Room after lunch, Alex, maybe ask His Highness. He has the power, too. I get needing to be able to shield some thoughts—to only allow those through that you want." She gives Rob a dark look. "It's like not having any filter and just blurting out any fucking thing that comes into your mind for anyone to hear if you can't."

Rob closes his eyes and hangs his head. At least he has the decency to seem embarrassed when he finally seems to "get" it.

 

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We meet Cat and Pinkie for lunch in the Navy Mess, which is in the basement. Ginger had first carted Sis off to some unknown place to find her a nice dress and … other things that actually fit. It's a fancy restaurant run by the Navy, and I'm not dressed for it. But at least Sis is now in a gorgeous dress and should be much more comfortable. The morning has been … challenging and we didn't get any time to see if Sis could do more with my back. Now … this. I'm just not sure I'm up to the new challenge of eating in such a fancy environment. That is until Race comes in and sits down with us.

He smiles and I turn to mush. I look down to make sure I'm still in my wheelchair and not a puddle of goo on the floor.

Get a grip, Bro!

Go kiss Ginger, Sis!

You two need to learn to shield your thoughts! You couldn't do this yesterday, Alex. What changed? Why do you need to get a grip? Sarah, right? You like Ginger? Go for it – she's certainly into girls and not currently seeing anyone.

I spew out my iced tea—luckily just back into my glass—and Sis chokes on hers. Race just looks smug and smirks.

Cat gives us a concerned look and I blush. "Sorry! It's sweet tea … I should have ordered unsweet."

She nods knowingly and smiles.

She knows. Don't worry. They all know I can communicate this way. I can do it with them, too – although, they can't initiate the communication. You and Sarah were just broadcasting to me, which is unusual—somehow you initiated it. Something has changed with your red magic. Race innocently looks at his menu like nothing's going on. I wasn't expecting this so soon. Also, don't worry that Sarah unintentionally found out about our discussion, yesterday—I can read it in both your minds. She's vetted; but being thirteen complicated things—yesterday. We will work on your mind control today, however.

Sis turns green and suddenly looks like she's lost her appetite.

I don't know how to react.

"Lunch is on me, today, gang! Let's eat up—there's a lot of work to do this afternoon. Ginger, when you're done torturing poor Sarah here with your magic lessons, please bring her to the War Room. She's fully vetted and cleared…and is up to speed on the basics at this point, anyway. Now, let's enjoy our lunch, shall we?" Race smiles over the top of his menu, then simply looks back down at it with those gorgeous blue eyes crinkling in mirth.

Sis chokes on her tea, again.

"Yes, Your Highness—it shouldn't take more than a couple of hours, today. And Sarah, if that sweet tea bothers you so much, I'm happy to ask for some unsweet for you." Ginger grins mischievously. "You're certainly sweet enough that you don't need the extra sugar."

It's my turn to choke. Did you say something to Ginger? Is she flirting?

No! I didn't say anything! When would I have? And … I don't know. Maybe? Dare I dream? Sis blushes profusely at the prospect.

She's most definitely flirting. She may have gotten the impression from me that Sarah is interested. Race winks at me from behind his menu. I'm pretty sure that he didn't include Sis in that piece of information, and I feel a sudden … clamp on my mind that blocks my thoughts from her. You're welcome—both for me letting something "slip" to Ginger and for putting a temporary block on your mind. Neither Sarah nor I will receive anything from you until you intentionally send it to us. I'll teach you how to do it for yourself after lunch, since it will only be in effect as long as I maintain it and you're in range of my magic.

I blush. It is a relief to know that he isn't hearing my thoughts. I mean I trust that he's being honest about that and not eavesdropping. I hope he hasn't picked up on my crush on him … or whatever it is … and that I can keep him from finding out. A hunk like him must have a hot girlfriend … and dozens waiting on the sidelines. And even if he were to be gay, the same would hold true. And I still don't understand why I'm even … so infatuated with him. I'm not gay that I know of … well, not any more than I know that I'm not, as far as that goes.

I give up trying to figure it all out and focus on my menu. I really need to decide on what I want to order.

 

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I look around the War Room for the hundredth time. It looks just like you would imagine a War Room would look like. A big center conference table, tons of computer stations around the perimeter, and a giant wall of monitors that can be driven individually or as one huge composite screen on one wall.

I'm currently watching live feed from China, since one of the dedicated satellites is currently over the area of interest. One passes by every ten minutes and gives a three-minute window of what's going on. They're letting the feed through again and the picture is unsettling. There must be thirty dinosaurs in view, now—five each of T. Rexes, Ankylosaurs, Triceratopses, and Velociraptors. There is also a group of others that I can't make out because their view is obstructed by trees. If I had to guess, based on what I can see, they're Dromaeosaurs—a species that's very similar to the Velociraptors and just as deadly. Finally, there is at least one Stegosaurus.

"These were … are all extremely lethal types of dinosaurs. You say they're creating an army? There are others that they'll likely add, then—or at least that I would, if I wanted a badass mix. Not that any of them would stand a chance against most modern weapons. And I still don't understand where they're coming from … or how the dragons are controlling them. Sure, the raptors likely hunted in packs, but they wouldn't get along with the others." I shake my head and let out a nervous laugh. "Are you sure this isn't some kind of hoax?"

Race growls his response. "It's no hoax! Grae'Bar is behind this assault. And he's no fool. He'll provide them with some sort of protection." He takes a deep breath through his nose and lets it slowly escape out his mouth to calm himself. "What do you know about the end of the dinosaurs? You're studying them, right?"

I nod. "My major is paleontology, yes. But you know that. Anyway, the dinosaurs died around sixty-five million years ago—at the end of the Cretaceous Period. Why? And Grey Bear? Who … or what … is that?"

"More on that later." He shuts his eyes for a moment. "You're not quite ready for that lesson. Let's just start with the great Dragon experiments. Earth was one of them. The Dragons were here to study Earth and its evolution. That was over two hundred and thirty million years ago and to a great degree resulted in the dominating evolution of the dinosaurs over other lifeforms on Earth—but only because of inappropriate interventions by some of the scientists."

I look at him with clear disbelief. His beautiful blue eyes aren't getting him out of this one. "Sure. I'll put that on my final and get an 'A+'." I shake my head. "Oh, wait! I don't have a class in creative writing …."

He frowns. "Look, Alex. This is no joke. Grae'Bar was one of the original lead scientists studying the planet, along with She'leth. Grae'Bar inappropriately wanted the dinosaurs to dominate the planet, he seeded the planet and used magical interventions to give them an advantage over the other developing lifeforms. By the time She'leth found out, the dinosaurs had established a completely dominating presence and were on their way to higher sentience, or at least some species were. She informed the Empress who was very displeased. Then the asteroid struck that ultimately ended the illegal experimentation. Some think the Empress actually sent the asteroid, although she would never admit to it."

I choke and give him a scrupulous look. "So … you're trying to tell me that not only did the dragons cause the dawn of the dinosaurs two hundred and thirty million years ago—but that their creators are now there in China and … making a new army of them? To do what? Come on, Race. This is tough to swallow, you have to admit. How would you know any of that, anyway?"

"Whether you believe it yet or not, is actually beside the point." He shrugs. "You will. And only Grae'Bar and his followers are in China, not She'leth. He has decided to finish what he started, it seems. How I know this—and what his ultimate goal is—is another thing that it's not time to speak of, yet—not until I know you can control your thoughts. I have to be sure you don't indiscriminately leak them to just anyone. So, we have other lessons that you must learn, first—and we have to free your magic. That is of utmost importance!"

I shake my head. He may be gorgeous but I'm afraid he's a little loony. Hopefully that's not a hallmark of red magic—and my destiny. "Um … okay. If you say so. And … how are we going to free my magic? Isn't that dependent on me going through puberty?"

"That is one of the primary triggers, yes." He shrugs. "But there can be others …. You're already exhibiting some signs of it and that's because of your connection to your sister. We have to build on that connection … fortify it. It will take some time, but your magic should intensify with the strengthened bond. First, however, we need to teach you how to control your thought projections …."

We spend the next hour "practicing" me controlling my thoughts. The end-result is … frustrating. "I just don't get it! I can't 'feel' my magic stream like you're describing. So, I can't control it."

He takes a deep breath and nods. "Okay. I can keep a lid on your thoughts while you're around here, but I can't keep the filter in place once you leave. Until your magic stream … or the feed from your sister … is stronger, you won't be able to control it yourself. I may be able to teach Sarah to filter out your thoughts and not project to you, but you will have to rely on her … or me. That won't do when we have to go up against Grae'Bar or his team."

I blow out my air in frustration and nearly cuss. I'm saved from that embarrassment when Ginger brings Sis in.

"Hey, Bro! How's it going? Ginge here has put me through the ringer!" She smiles shyly at Ginger.

I shake my head. "Not good. Not good at all."

Ginger cocks her head to one side and looks at Race. "Is there anything I can do to help, Your Highness?"

He actually growls. He's been so patient all day. It's so cute! But his patience seems to be wearing thin. "I don't know, Ginger. I think we need to strengthen the bond between Alex and Sarah. I can feel that's what's driving Alex's limited magic—like he's parasitizing her magic … or it's maybe somehow symbiotic. I've never seen anything like it. But maybe if we increase that flow, we'll hit a magic threshold and it will trigger something in Alex." He shrugs and grins ruefully. "That's my theory, at any rate."

So, we spend the next two hours exploring ways to strengthen Sis' and my connection. I try "talking" to Sis in my head several times, but Race's "clamp" is firmly on my mind. In the end, I'm not sure what we accomplish. We didn't even get a chance for Sis to try any of her healing on me.

Finally, it's time to go home for the day. Pinkie does insist that we stop quickly at the mall on the way home and "The Company" pays for a few more outfits for Sis—ones that fit her. I guess they don't want her wearing any more yoga clothes to the West Wing. Or maybe they're just being nice, since Pinkie giggles when she's paying. "We won't go too overboard, since you're still growing and these won't fit the same next week, I promise!"

When we get home, Momma J is already in bed, since she has the early shift again and she's always beat after the brutal shift. Sis and I warm up the leftover pizza and watch some TV. We don't talk about the weird day—we just want to chill out and wallow in stupid TV shows.

After a couple hours of binging on mindless shows, I talk Sis into zapping me. She's reluctant, again, but surprises me by being easier to convince this time. "Okay, just for a little. I'm still not sure about this, but I think I'm getting better control after practicing with Ginge, today."

I smile. "So … was she flirting?"

Her blush wordlessly answers my question. "Come on! Before I change my mind …."